Every Morning You Greet Me
by Rheumatism
Summary: The Captain loses one of his senses and Maria must care for him.
1. Chapter 1

Maria sighed as she gazed out at the barren rose garden cringing in the bright white February sunshine beyond the French windows of the schoolroom. Everything looked so crisp and clean after the relentless rain of the morning and early afternoon and she longed to be part of it.

"Fraulein Maria, what are you looking at?" asked the youngest Von Trapp boy, who was becoming increasingly inquisitive as he often did when boredom took hold. The question slightly startled Maria.

"The garden."

Kurt wrinkled his nose in confusion. "Why? It's all so ugly."

"Shhh" Brigitta hissed, clearly annoyed by her brother's interruption to her afternoon reading of Othello. Maria looked pointedly at Brigitta but with a certain warmth and understanding in her eyes.

"Every season has it's beauty, Kurt", Maria explained in a low whisper mindful that the others were diligently working. "Now, how is your French grammar coming along?"

Kurt winced as his governess picked up his workbook and chuckled.

"I can see that we have quite some work to do before we read aloud to your father." She teased. Glimpsing the slight look of dejection in the boy's posture, Maria added "Though I must say that your handwriting is becoming very like your father's."

"Really?" The young boy beamed.

"How would you know?" Louisa teased, earning exasperated looks from Liesl and Brigitta although all three girls enjoyed the blush that appeared in their governess' cheeks.

 _Oh help_ , Maria thought. The girls always managed to catch her out when it came to her unrequited and entirely secret feelings for their father. There was clearly nothing more alluringly romantic and thrilling to a young girl's mind than the thought of a fairytale romance between baron and maid.

"He wrote to me. When I was at the Abbey." Maria cleared her throat and picked up her sewing before taking a seat in the heavy wooden armchair at the head of the room. "Which is why I came back." She looked up and realised all eyes were on her. Apart from Gretl, who was asleep with her head on her desk.

"What did it say?" Louisa asked. Maria rolled her eyes and pretended to unpick a stitch in the hem of the dress she was making for Marta. "Oh please tell us."

"You know very well what it said." Maria laughed slightly as she spoke. "But that was all a very long time ago so do all get back to your revision before your father arrives and sends me back to the Abbey for failing to maintain discipline!"

The children sighed in defeat and became engrossed again in their studies. As Maria fiddled with the hem, she thought back to the very short letter.

 _Fraulein Maria,_

 _The children and I understand that your vocation to God may prevent you from ever returning, so I will keep this brief._

 _The baroness has departed for good so there is no prospect of the children having a mother in the near future._

 _I therefore ask that you come back to the children, if only for a short while. They need you._

 _Sincerely,_

 _Captain Von Trapp_

Maria could still feel the thickness of the cream monogrammed writing paper between her fingers. Approximately six months had passed since her return but she was no closer to finding her life. The letter now lay in her bedside drawer amongst her very few possessions including a withered daisy chain made by Gretl and a small brown leather notebook given to her by the Captain on Christmas Eve. Whenever the doubts about her path in life crept up on her, she would remove the letter from the leather notebook and read the plea from the Captain. It usually steadied her mind and reassured her that it was god's will for her to help the children.

The grandfather clock in the hall chimed three and the children, apart from Brigitta, eagerly began to pack their books away. As Maria looked up from her sewing, she caught Friedrich's eye as he was about to wallop Kurt in retaliation for some provocation that she didn't witness. Wanting to show that they were mature young men, the boys instantly stood taller under her glare made do with some harmless arm punching instead. Maria smiled and jumped to her feet. It was time for music practice.

"Right, let's.." Maria's words and the children's chattering was interrupted by a haggard cry for help.

"Frau Schmidt! Franz..." Came the strangled plea from the hall. The cry was awful and Maria ran to the door of the schoolroom but turned back to see the children following her. Footsteps, doors slamming, and panicked voices swept in from the hallway.

"Wait here children." Maria whispered as calmly as she could "Liesl, look after them."

With that, she ran into the hall and froze in horror. Absolute horror.

Max was crumbled in a heap at the top of the stairs against the grand front door, his face blackened with soot "Help him.. not me!" He brushed Franz off in frustration and called out for a doctor. Maria ran up the stairs to Max, losing her shoes in the process. She dropped to her knees and grasped his bloodied hand, her heart and ears pounding in the confusion and chaos. His whole body heaved as he struggled for breath. "Don't look around, my dear." He rasped as he looked over her left shoulder towards Frau Schmidt and Franz who were shouting to the staff to bring water and call a doctor. For a moment, Maria was confused. Then she started to turn around, despite Max grabbing her arms weakly "Don't...Fraulien... please..." she turned anyway.

"Captain?" She breathed as her eyes adjusted to the mass of dark grey fabric, black shoes, and burnt flesh lying between Frau Schmitt and Franz. "Cap... oh God" It was him. The green collar... it was him. His face and lifeless body disfigured by blood. The chaos evaporated around her and left only him. She crawled to him and lifted his bloodied head to her lap. "Captain?"


	2. Chapter 2

On the orders of Max, Maria began to cut away at the Captain's shirt, checking his face constantly and hoping that he would respond to the sounds around him or to her touches. His torso and arms were peppered with shrapnel marks but it was the angry red burn stretching from his left elbow to his neck and face that made her gasp.

"We need ice!" She cried out to whoever was listening. Oh please Lord, let him wake.

"Not yet, my dear." Frau Schmitt responded calmly, placing a comforting hand on Maria's arm and displaying the matronly authority that she had gained as a young woman in the war. "Clean the blood away with this" Maria accepted the cloth being held towards her "but don't get any water on the burns."

"It's alright, Captain" she whispered as she timidly wiped the blood away from his chest "you're going to be just fine." His eyes were closed and a puckered red burn shot across them. Maria prayed that they would open again and bit back the terror that this thought provoked as it suddenly threatened to engulf her. _Oh where is the doctor? Why hasn't he come?_

In the background somewhere behind her she could faintly hear Max speaking weakly to Franz in a low and laboured whisper. The words 'car' and 'fire' were audible to her but there was little else that needed to be said. Another male voice then entered the room behind her and before she could think further, the Captain was being pulled away from her by the Doctor and Franz.

"No, what are you doing?!" She objected, flinching at the way they held him and moved at speed towards the grand staircase. They acknowledged her protest with pointed looks but did not respond so she followed them. "Be careful with him, please." It was unbearable.

"My dear, come with me." Frau Schmitt distracted her as she grasped her arm and the two women raced ahead to the master bedroom on the upper floor. "Run a lukewarm bath." With that, Frau Schmitt left Maria alone to carry out her task.

Maria looked around large, bright, unfamiliar room for the ensuite door. Her head pounded as she darted across the room, almost tripping over the Captain's slippers as she did so. She turned the enamelled taps to full blast and ran back into the bedroom. "Doctor, the bath is running lukewarm."

"Very good," the doctor replied evenly as he and Franz placed the Captain on the bed "now add some of this."

Maria's eyes widened as he handed her a glass bottle of eucalyptus oil. "Won't this sting him terribly?"

"A little, but it's for the best." The Doctor smiled warmly, noting the look of worry in her eyes. When the Maria's back was turned, the doctor looked quizzically at Franz.

"The Captain's governess." Franz explained, only to be met with a look look of surprise from the doctor.

The minty herbal scent of the eucalyptus oil wafted through to the bedroom as the two men carried the Captain through to the bathroom. Maria anxiously gripped her apron as she watched them lower the partially clothed Captain into the bath. Franz, the doctor, and Maria watched his face closely for a reaction as his body touched the water. There was no response.

Then suddenly there was a deep anguished groan from the captain as the water hit his injured arm and torso. Maria was at his side immediately, grasping his hand from the oil-slicked water.

"Captain, I am Doctor Haas." The doctor spoke calmly as he reached into his bag. Maria observed him carefully as he filled a pipette with oil. "You've had a little accident in your car and I need to take a look in your eyes." He paused as he inspected the pipette. "Fraulein, please could you steady him as I take a look?" Maria nodded, not taking her eyes away from the Captain. "This may be uncomfortable, Sir."

Uncomfortable didn't even begin to cover it and Maria knew this from the hesitation in the doctor's movements as he moved to open the captain's left eye. Her heart pounded so hard against her chest that she was sure the Captain would hear it. She gripped his hand a little tighter as the doctor moved closer.

Nothing could have prepared her for the gut-wrenching cry from the Captain and the way his body thrashed in the water as the doctor held his burnt eyelids open and administered the castor oil. Maria bit her lip to stop her tears as he grasped her hand so tightly that she lost feeling in her fingers. As the doctor moved to his other eye, the Captain's entire body stiffened as he curled onto his side. The movement splashed water all over Maria and the floor. Franz began to run more bath water.

"There there," she whispered softly to the Captain. She watched as he gritted his teeth, his face and body contorted in pain. "This will soon be over, Captain." She prayed that it would be.

Frau Schmitt entered the bedroom with her arms full of clean towels. "Herr Detweiler is settled in his room. The poor man full of guilt and he has a nasty graze to his cheek." She shook her head slightly and looked over to where Maria leant against the closed bathroom, door. "How is he?" Her voice softened.

"Brave." Maria whispered. Her eyes were red and she had obviously been crying.

"That's our Captain, my dear." Frau Schmitt smiled sadly, as she turned to close the curtains against the night sky. "He will need you and the children more than ever now." She switched on the bedside lamps.

Maria's eyes widened in horror "The children..."

"... are all settled in their beds. Dear Leisl saw to that."

She darted towards the door, heart pounding "I must see them.."

Frau Schmitt held Maria's arm gently. "Let them rest, my dear. They will have a lot to digest tomorrow."

Before any more could be said on the matter, the Captain appeared in the bathroom doorway with his arms draped around the shoulders of the doctor and Franz. Maria gasped at the sight of him standing and leapt towards them but then hesitated, not really knowing what to do. She stood back, wringing her hands, as he was placed on the bed and tucked in.

"All dressings, apart from those on his eyes, will need to be changed once a day." The doctor explained to Maria and Frau Schmitt. "I will return in one week to take a look at his eyes." He placed two jars of pills on the bedside table "These are to be taken three times a day for the pain. And these twice a day to minimise the risk of infection." Maria nodded, her eyes obviously full of fear. "For now, he needs to rest. Somebody should be with him at all times."

"Yes doctor," Frau Schmitt answered, "be rest assured that we will have all in hand and will call you if there are any changes. Fraulein Maria will take care of him this evening as the children are in bed." She turned to Maria with that usual knowing look in her eye. "Fraulein, why don't you go and change your dress and come back here when you are ready? If we leave your dress to soak tonight, all will be well in the morning."

Maria looked down at her blood-spotted dress and nodded, quite unsure of why Frau Schmitt had assigned her to be the first carer. It was almost as though the housekeeper could read her mind sometimes. "Thank you, Doctor." She shook the doctor's hand solemnly. Before she left, she took a last look at the bandaged Captain, who was propped up stiffly against the pillows. "I won't be too long, Captain" she said softly before leaving the room.

Although she couldn't be sure whether he was sleeping or awake as his eyes were obscured by bandages, Frau Schmitt she was certain that she had detected the faintest of smiles on his lips as Maria spoke. _'Yes,' she thought, 'he needs her more than ever.'_

* * *

AN: Thank you for your reviews and follows and apologies for doing this to our captain! The medical treatments are (I hope) historically accurate as they are taken from my copy of A. Millicent Ashdown's 'Complete System of Nursing' 1934.


	3. Chapter 3

Nothing but the ever-reliable tick-tocking of the grandfather clock in the hall could be heard throughout the common rooms of the Von Trapp household. Within the private rooms, however, the air was thick with anxious and fretful thoughts. The children had decided to crowd together on Liesl's bed, a fact known to most of the staff but overlooked given the day's events. Whilst the little ones slept, the older children pretended to sleep but could only recall the horrors and upheavals in the afternoon of what was otherwise a very ordinary day. They could only think of their father and of their Uncle Max. Only Leisl had caught a glimpse of the scene in the hallway, of her dear father's bloodied face and hair and of Fraulein Maria cradling his head in her lap. Leisl hadn't prayed as hard since the night she watched her father cradle her mother in his arms all those years ago. The floorboards on the landing beyond their bedroom door creaked as somebody walked past their room. Leisl watched the shadow pause beneath the door and closed her eyes quickly when the door opened slightly. The line of light emitting from the hallway was gone almost in an instant as the shadow moved on towards the master bedroom further down the hallway.

Maria, cleaned and bathed, closed the door to the Leisl's room carefully and tiptoed lightly across the landing towards the Captain's room. Before she entered, she hesitated outside the door and brushed down the light brown fabric of her skirt before straightening the cuffs of her blouse, as she always seemed to do before meeting the Captain. She knocked and the door opened almost immediately.

"Ah, Fraulien Maria," Frau Schmitt smiled warmly as she opened the door "You look much brighter after your bath." She turned to the Captain "The Fraulein will look after you until morning, sir. Goodnight."

And with that, she was gone. And Maria didn't quite know what to do. He looked so uncomfortable and so helpless that her heart broke at the thought of being unable to improve things for him.

"Are you planning to stand there all night, Fraulein?" The voice was weak but unmistakably his. The sound jolted her from her thoughts.

"No sir, I mean..." she stuttered, as she was moved by an invisible force towards him, and immediately placed her hand lightly over his. She felt him tense slightly at the touch so she pulled away, conscious that she may have hurt him. "How are you feeling?"

"I've honestly never felt better." Although he teased, he was soothed by her presence and wanted her to stay. The world was dark to him, but her voice was a ray of sunshine. The sound of the sash windows being closed woke him his reverie. "Fraulein, would you mind leaving the windows open slightly?"

Maria frowned and shivered slightly in the cool breeze.

"Only... I'm very warm, you see." He explained and could almost sense her frown. "The burns are quite painful."

"Oh I'm so sorry, Sir!" She was mortified and opened the windows once more. "I should have thought."

He chuckled slightly then winced as an intense bolt of pain shot through his arm. "Is there anything I can take for this?"

At the rasped plea, she was back at his side with her eyes closed tight against the thought of his pain and the sight of his bandages. There was one more thing she could try...

"What's that?" The sound of liquid being poured into a glass on his bedside table startled him. He smiled at the scent of Islay peatiness. "Fraulein Maria, you surprise me."

"It's not for me, silly." she admonished lightly and lifted the cut crystal glass to his lips. The bandages covered his raised eyebrows and he drank willingly.

As she helped him drink, she took the opportunity of their close proximity to study what was visible of his face. The dimpled little scar on his chin that she had noticed on their first meeting, the jet black strands of his hair, the smoothness of the skin on his chiselled jawline... Stop it Maria, you mustn't, she told herself sternly.

The captain felt the skin of his chin prickle slightly at her touch. Everything about her presence comforted him. If only he could see her... he tensed and cleared his throat, not really wanting to ask the question he know he must. "The doctor...did he..."

"Yes, sir?" Maria's heart clenched as she knew what he would ask.

"Did he give any indication regarding my sight?"

The silence in the room thickened. The sensation was unfamiliar to them both as they always seemed to have so much to say.

"He will return next week so we will know more then." She hoped her voice was steady but she doubted it.

The slight quiver in her voice spoke volumes to him and he sunk back further into the cushions against which he was propped.

"But it does not look... hopeful?"

"Captain, he truly did not indicate either way..."

"But you saw them? How bad..."

"Really, Captain I am not a Doctor." She interrupted sharply, her heart breaking once again at the panic in his voice.

Although he needed more than anything to know, he took pity on her and ceased his questioning. He could sense that she was frozen to the spot beside his bed, possibly in fear of him.

"The darkness is like none I have ever known, Fraulein." His voice had softened.

"I'm sure that the bandages account for that, Sir." The image of those angry red burns were are the forefront of her mind, but hope pushed them away. "All will be well when they are removed."

"Let us hope so, Fraulein." He smiled. The thought of never seeing his children again filled him with horror, but now was time for a brave face.

There was no need for more conversation as the Maria helped the Captain lie back so that he could sleep. Each understood the the hopes and fears of the other and both were tired and weary from the events of the day. Maria settled down into the fine wing-backed armchair beside the Captain's bed and watched as his body slowly relaxed under the influence of fatigue and opium. The heavily brocaded curtains swayed in the night breeze and the chill penetrated through Maria's thin blouse. She shivered in response as she knelt down on the floor and clasped her hands together to silently pray for her Captain.


	4. Chapter 4

As he awoke to darkness, he winced at the twinges his newly found consciousness bestowed on his injuries. Without the blessing of his sight, it was difficult to determine what time it was, but if felt like early afternoon. There was something in the way that the house below him seemed to buzz with light activity; footsteps here and whispers there. Today was the first day of March, he remembered, and the light breeze from the windows already seemed a little warmer than the previous day. He could hear somebody tip-toeing around the room and guessed with some certainty that it was Fraulein Maria.

"Good morning, Fraulein." No uncertainty was present in his sleep-gravelled voice.

"Oh Captain, you're awake!" She almost dropped the vase that she was carrying to the sideboard.

"Apparently."

"Are you in pain?" The concern in her voice (closer to him now) touched him.

"Not much." He lied. The pain in his head was almost unbearable. "The laudanum may take credit for that."

There was a pause and he knew she didn't believe him, but was holding back from confronting him for fear of making him worse.

He decided to break the silence, if only to distract himself from the way she was gently pulling him forwards so that the pillows could be plumped behind him. "Do I smell irises?"

"Yes! Oh Sir, the flowers are simply wonderful." The dazzlingly bright tone of her voice matched the swathes of flowers in the room. "Three dozen bouquets have arrived for you from all over Salzburg and continue to do so."

"News does travel fast!" He scoffed, a little annoyed that so much fuss was being made.

"But it's so thoughtful, Captain. They all want to wish you well." She remembered that he could not see them and realised that her excitement over the flowers may be insensitive. A description was in order "There are not only irises.. delphiniums and freesias from Baroness Ebberfield, cornflowers from Herr Zeller," Maria ignored his snort and gently pushed him back into the pillows when he sat upright at Zeller's name, "...daffodils from Hans... I'm afraid we will run out of vases soon enough."

"Hmm.." he grumbled, but secretly wished he could see as well as smell them. "What time is it, Fraulein?"

"One o'clock."

"It's what?" Horror swept through him.

"Even Captains need rest sometimes, sir." He could hear the pretty smile and light chuckle in her voice. That voice disarmed him every time.

"How is Max?"

"Up and about. He's with the children in the schoolroom." She bit her lip and hesitated slightly. "Would you mind if I brought them all to see you? I understand if you are too tired, but they really are so worried about you, especially the little ones and..."

He raised his hands to stop her rambling and smiled slightly "Alright, alright." Then he remembered his bandages and sleep-addled body. "But how do I look?"

Still impossibly handsome, she thought. But she knew what he meant.

"Not to worry, Captain. I'll call Franz and start running your bath - we'll have you cleaned up in no time." He coughed and she blushed the most furious shade of pink. That was not what she meant at all. "I mean..." she cleared her throat and grabbed the box of new dressings from the side table near the bed and put them down again. She opened her mouth to correct herself but then closed it again when she saw the smirk on his lips. There was no use. "I'll fetch Franz."

With that, she left the room and hurried downstairs to the butler's pantry trying furiously to calm her blush with the cool palms of her hands.

Washed and shaven, he felt so much better. The kind of newness that can only be felt in the aftermath of the first real cleanse after an illness. The dip in the mattress beside him comforted him no end because it was created by the weight of the Fraulein as she redressed his wounds while Franz combed his hair. His wounds prickled as the air met them and he hissed slightly.

"I'm sorry." The whispered apology was so soft and heartfelt that it warmed his whole body. The delicate movements of her fingertips across his skin as she dressed his arm were so sublime that they were almost unbearable. The fact that he felt so comfortable in her presence while shirtless was a surprise to him. He wondered how she was feeling about it...

Maria tried her best to concentrate solely on her task as a nurse. She tried hard to regard him as just a body, as just another human being who needed her help. But she couldn't. Now that he not in such peril, she marvelled at his form and his torso. Mindful that Franz was hovering over her, she was careful not to indulge too much in studying every scar and freckle on his body, but she was seeing more of him than she head ever seen of any man before. It was exhilarating.

Hoping that Franz couldn't read her mind, she unwillingly turned her back as he dressed the Captain in his crisp white shirt and brown velvet smoking jacket.

"Help me to the chair, would you?" He asked Franz. Franz automatically looked to Maria for help.

"Captain..." she started but he interrupted her sharply, the annoyance stemming from his pain rather than from her.

"I will not allow my children to see me as an invalid in bed." His order was final. Then his voice softened "So help me, please."

Maria could not challenge him on that, so she and Franz helped him over to the armchair by the window and the Captain thanked them both.

"Are you ready for them now?" She asked tentatively.

"Yes, Fraulien Maria. Bring them to me."

He hoped they would not be too horrified by the sight of him and he straightened the cuffs of his jacket.


	5. Chapter 5

Leisl entered the unfamiliar room first and the others timidly followed, clutching their bunches of flowers and smiling warily at their father. It was difficult for them to read him now that his eyes were covered. Maria nodded at Leisl in encouragement and smiled as the soon-to-be seventeen year old stepped forwards.

"Father," she said warmly as she knelt before him and gently took his hand in hers, "we brought you some flowers to make you feel better."

Georg tightly grasped his daughter's hand and swallowed the lump in his throat. Maria bit her lip to stem the tear that threatened to fall as she watched him tentatively reach out to locate Leisl's face. Leisl helped him by pulling his hand towards her cheek.

"Thank you, dear Leisl," his voice was slightly broken, "Now, where are the others?"

"We're all here, father," she said as cheerily as possible and gestured for her brothers and sisters to join them. The others practically ran towards their father and crowded around him hugging his knees and assessing his new bandages with concern. Maria's heart tightened when she saw the Captain look from left to right, trying desperately to work out what was going on. The little ones clung to his knees but Kurt and Friedrich just wanted to know all about the accident. At the first sign of the conversation taking a dangerous turn, she stepped forwards.

"There there, Boys," Maria laughed lightly lift the mood and distract the Captain. "Let your father rest. I'm sure there will be plenty of time for war stories later!"

"But.." Kurt countered.

"Ah," she raised her finger to her lips then ruffled Kurt's hair to show that she wasn't mad at him and mouthed 'later'.

"Does it hurt?" Brigitta, curious as ever, asked.

"A little, my dear," the Captain admitted and smiled at her concern, "but I feel all the more better for seeing all of you."

"You gave us such a fright, Father!" Louisa breathily exclaimed.

"We thought you were dead!" Brigitta added, remembering the scene in the hallway as glimpsed through the crack in the schoolroom door.

"Brigitta, you shouldn't say that!" Kurt retaliated.

He laughed at this but only to cover the fear the words inflicted on him. Had it been even slightly worse, the children could have been orphaned. "You won't get rid of me that easily, Brigitta."

The children laughed and Maria wished he could see their faces.

"Now, while I am recovering, I need you to be on your best behaviour for Frau Schmidt and Fraulien Maria," he said sternly but with a warmth in his tone reserved only for those closest to him, "Can you all do that for me?"

"How about Uncle Max?" Brigitta added cheekily.

"And Uncle Max," he chuckled, "even he deserves some respect."

"Will you be down for supper?" asked Marta timidly, "Cook is making schnitzel and you like that."

"No, my dear," he brushed his daughter's hair with his hand, "but it won't be long before I join you all again."

"Not even for schnitzel?" Gretl challenged in an even quieter voice.

"Not even for schnitzel, my darlings," he smiled as he spoke softly. "I am under strict orders to rest."

"Whose orders?" Leisl asked with a raised eyebrow, humouring her younger siblings by joining in.

"Fraulein Maria's." Maria rolled her eyes at him as he grinned wickedly at the children's gasps, "and you should all know that she is a formidable force when she has her mind set on something."

"What's 'formidable'?" Kurt asked.

"It means that I must obey her," he was teasing her again.

Leisl and Louisa grinned at their governess's wild pink blush and wished more than anything that their father could see it. Kurt continued to look confused at the situation but accepted his father's answer with a shrug.

* * *

Some hours later while the children were enthusiastically devouring their supper (clearly not in silence judging by the racket coming from the dining room downstairs), Georg focussed intently on the sound of pages being ritually being turned in an old book somewhere to his right. He guessed she was sitting in the armchair on the opposite side of the room. The last person to sit in the armchair had been Agathe all those years ago and it pained him slightly to have the brocaded green fabric disturbed by another. In a way, it felt like a betrayal of her memory. The room was modest in size when compared to the rest of the house, but he chose it for the view and for the the french doors that spread from one corner of the room to another. They led to a balcony overlooking the lake, the gazebo, and all that he loved in his estate. The view would be of darkness by now, he imagined. Not that it made the slightest bit of difference to him in his current state. The voices downstairs melted away as supper was finished and the room once again became silent apart from the sound of her breathing softly.

"Who or what is holding your attention so acutely, Fraulein?" His voice had a slightly teasing edge to it and he smirked as he heard her gasp a little in surprise at the sudden voice in the silence. "You seem so taken with your reading material that you have barely uttered a single word to me for almost two hours." The mock-pain in his voice stemmed from his boredom at the silence.

"You do exaggerate, Captain," she chided lightly, "You of all people should know that I am quite incapable of keeping quiet for such a length of time." She knew he was teasing her and it never failed to excite her.

"Answer my question, Fraulein," he persisted. The truth was that he really wanted her to read to him so that he could share in something with her.

"The Seashore.."

"..For Boys and Girls?" He finished her sentence, recalling the battered old turquoise cover from Leisl's youth with a smile. "I had hoped that my governess would be a little more advanced in her knowledge than this."

She blushed for the nth time that day and was glad that he could not see it.

"The pictures are wonderful," she sighed.

"So I recall," he replied evenly with just the hint of a wistful smile.

"I often wonder what it would be like to see the sea?" Although promised once or twice during her childhood, her dream of visiting the seaside had never materialised.

"I'm afraid you're asking the wrong man," he joked sarcastically. He heard the book close and sensed her moving closer towards him. She sat on the ottoman at the foot of his chair

"Have you ever taken the children?" she mused. He frowned and shook his head, to which her jaw dropped. "I'm sure they would find it thrilling!"

He smirked at her enthusiasm. "By which you mean that you would find it thrilling, Fraulein."

"I won't deny it, Sir." Her honesty was so refreshing to him.

"Perhaps one day when everything has settled down." The sudden silence shifted the mood slightly and he realised it was the fault of his pessimism. He imagined her crestfallen face and, completely unexpectedly, his mind then wandered to delight that would overcome her as she dipped her toes into the sea for the first time. He cleared his throat as he brought himself back to reality. "Definitely one day when everything has settled down."

"Oh thank you, Captain!" She beamed at him, at his kindness. Silence fell upon the room once again and she returned to her book but not to her chair. It felt better to be closer to him. The vivid watercolour print before her was mesmerising and she studied the textures of the shells, sea urchin, and starfish intently. Ever since she was a child, she had always wanted to touch these things in real life. The prospect of finally doing so excited her curiosity. The prospect of doing so with him was almost too much to bear.

"I... I errr," he trailed off and shifted uncomfortably in his armchair. He hated not being able to see her, to judge the tone or mood of the atmosphere by sight. The loss of his sight even took away his ability to pace across the room confidently when nervous. "I was hoping.."

"Hmm?" She asked, absentmindedly.

"I was wondering whether you could read to me?" The flurry in which the words exited his mouth betrayed his nerves.

Maria felt her breath hitch in her throat as he spoke. That was the very last thing she had expected him to say and it was delivered in such an unbearably tender voice.

"Perhaps not, erm, this but..." He knew exactly what he wanted to say but couldn't find the words. Why did this always happen with her? Only her. "And if you'd rather just read to yourself, you only have to say.."

"Yes." All that needed to be said at that moment was conveyed in a single word and the whisper with which she uttered it.

"Hmm?" He was genuinely surprised.

"Yes. I would like to read to you, Captain."

"Good!" The exclamation came forth a little louder than expected so he cleared his throat and composed himself. "That's good. Thank you. It is awfully quiet when one cannot see."

"There is no need to explain, Sir," she smiled and pressed her hand to his for the briefest of moments. "Do you have any particular requests?"

"I will leave that choice to you, Fraulein." The warmth that swept through him just as a consequence of that touch was like a balm on his current concerns and fears. "When choosing from my library, you can't go far wrong." The smugness in his voice caused her to roll her eyes.

"May I borrow the key for the library, sir?" She asked innocently.

"It's always open, as you well know." He was clearly referring to the library incident just two weeks previously, which had since become a font of teasing for Georg. He had caught her in the library one Tuesday afternoon, rummaging through the history section. She had, of course been mortified to be found in one of the forbidden rooms and he had, obviously, just narrowed his eyes at her as he watched her retreat back to the hall.

"I don't know what you mean, Captain." She blushed at the memory and stubbornly defended herself in her mind. The door, after all, was never locked.

Unbeknownst to her, he had deliberately left the library unlocked for her ever since her fourth day at the villa when she had followed him in there during one of her impassioned rages. He smiled at the memory of her staring open-mouthed at knowledge-laden shelves. In that moment, he had learned that books were the only way to keep her quiet.

"Yes you do," he teased. "Now, go and choose something to keep me amused."

* * *

AN: Thank you for all of your reviews and encouragement. Apologies for the delays between chapters but I'm currently writing this story solely on my phone x


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